Jo’s Boys, and How They Turned Out (1886)

Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out: A Sequel to "Little Men" is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott, first published in 1886. The novel is the final book in the unofficial Little Women series. In it, the March sisters' children and the original students of Plumfield, now grown, are caught up in real world troubles as they work towards careers and pursue love.

Jo's Boys was written between 1882 and 1886 as Alcott dealt with chronic illness. The book explores themes relating to modern ideals regarding gender roles and vocation, as well as progressive reform in education and women's right to vote. The characters Dan and Nan are examples of the opportunities open to people unattached in society.

Critics credited Jo's Boys with Alcott's normal charm and humor, noting its values and progressive ideas along with the return of past loved characters, although some called the book a lesser counterpart to Alcott's other books.

Plot

The book describes life at Plumfield, where Jo and Professor Bhaer continue to run an academy ten years after Little Men. The story also explores the lives of many past Plumfield residents. Tom, one of the original students, is so in love with another Plumfield student, Nan, that he has enrolled in medical school to follow her despite having no personal interest in medicine. Nan is clear that she wants to stay single and focus on her career.

Jo has earned plenty of money and notoriety publishing her stories, but is tired of the constant visits and letters from fans who expect someone different than she is. After an exasperating surprise visit from a group of fans, Dan, another original Plumfield student shows up on a visit from California. Those at Plumfield are fascinated by his wild personality and rugged good looks. A dance is held at Parnassus, the home of Amy and Laurie's family, before Dan goes off to try farming and Professor Bhaer's adopted son Emil goes back to sea.

The Lawrences then take Meg's youngest daughter Josie along on a vacation at the beach, where she discovers her idol Miss Cameron is staying next door. After biding her time, Josie earns an invitation to visit and receives advice from the actress. Back at Plumfield, Tom confides in Mrs. Jo that in his efforts to impress Nan, he "accidentally" proposed to a girl named Dora, but he finds he is happier with her and quits medicine to join his family's business. Meanwhile, Demi shares with his mother, Meg, that after trying so many professions, he wants to go into publishing.

The story jumps to Emil, who is promoted after his hard work as a sailor. On his first voyage as second mate, he gets a chance to show his true strength when the ship sinks and the captain becomes badly injured. He later marries the captain's daughter. In Dan's travels out west, he ends up killing a man in self-defense, which is the one sin he and Jo always feared he would commit. He is sentenced to a year in prison with hard labor and avoids telling anyone out of shame, only sending short postcards home. After his release, he resolves to do something worthy of pride before revisiting Plumfield.

Nat, yet another of the original students, begins a musical career in Europe, nearly goes into debt, and refocuses on his studies, largely due to his love for his childhood sweetheart Daisy Brooke and his desire to provide for and create a home for her, despite her mother Meg's opposition to their marriage. Back at Plumfield, Jo produces a play focusing on a mother as the hero of the story. Another production poses the residents of Plumfield as classic gods and goddesses in several tableaux. After Laurie's comments on Jo as Juno, she resolves to be a better wife to Professor Bhaer. Miss Cameron attends the event and compliments Josie's acting. Later, at the March sisters' sewing circle, they and the female students discuss their futures and the expanding opportunities for single women. At Class Day, Demi and Josie conspire to find out whether Alice Heath has feelings for Demi, and they settle on sending her three roses in various levels of bloom and asking her to wear one according to her feelings. Alice decides to wear all three, confirming their engagement. The news of Demi's engagement softens Meg's heart, and she tells her daughter Daisy that when Nat returns, they can be together.

News of Dan's injury, obtained while saving men from a mining accident, comes by newspaper. Laurie brings him back to Plumfield for recovery, after which Josie and Bess, Amy's young daughter, try to keep him entertained. Jo discovers Dan is in love with Bess and gently advises him not to act on it. Nat returns from Germany, and Meg officially approves his and Daisy's marriage. The book ends by summarizing that all the marriages go well, and Bess and Josie find success in the arts. Nan remains happily single and dedicated to her work, and Dan dies defending the Native Americans he lives among. Demi finds success in publishing, and Jo's son Ted becomes a clergyman. Alcott writes that this is the end of the March family's story.

Themes

Freedom

Miss Cameron, Dan, and Nan exemplify the freedom of unattachment in modern society. Dan, one of the most developed characters in the book, portrays an "untamed" hero figure. Free to do whatever he wants, he becomes both a savior and a murderer, the most attractive character at Plumfield, yet unworthy of marriage despite his love of Bess and imagining himself as her knight. His wandering, free lifestyle fails to keep him free of confinement and worthy of someone like Bess, instead leading to a lonely life and an early death. He exemplifies the hopelessness of satisfying all of one's personal desires.